Teams to vote on F1 qualifying races

Formula 1 teams will today meet in Paris to vote on the introduction of qualifying races at selected events in 2020.

It’s been proposed that, at three events next year, a revised qualifying format be introduced, placing cars in reverse championship order for a sprint style race to determine the grid for the race itself.

Such a move would require all teams to agree, though not all are in support of the concept.

There are concerns that the performance differential between teams is not significant enough to allow cars to pass one another, and establish a grid that reflects the field’s true performance.

That’s reinforced by the prospect of starting the race without any strategic divergence, with the cars likely to start on a brand new set of tyres and teams invariably gravitating to the same compound.

Without unanimous support the concept cannot be introduced for next year.

Had the vote been held prior to April 30, a simple majority would have been sufficient.

To progress, the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, teams which are known to be wary of the proposal, must be convinced such that they vote in favour of the change.

“If it’s not unanimous, it will not happen,” explained Haas boss Guenther Steiner.

“I don’t know if these people will be convinced, but that is a decision for Wednesday.”

Despite the negative outlook, Steiner suggest the new qualifying format could still happen.

Steiner is one of those in favour of the change, suggesting it’s worth trying before dismissing.

“You know, there was more than once that somebody didn’t want something, and then still it happened,” he said.

“So I wouldn’t get ahead of myself and say it is not going to happen.

“There are people which have got opinions, concerns about it, but the decision is on Wednesday, so let’s see what happens.”

“Sometimes you have to try things differently,” he added.

“If it doesn’t work, we should say ‘Hey, it didn’t work, let’s go back to what we had before.’

“I am happy to try that out and then see how it actually works, what impact it has.”